Robert Badinter, the former Minister of Justice under François Mitterrand who brought about the abolition of the death penalty in France, died on the night of Thursday to Friday. Here are excerpts from Robert Badinter's speech on September 17, 1987, which went down in history.
"Tomorrow, thanks to you, French justice will no longer be a justice that kills," Badinter told the National Assembly. "The debate which is open before you today is first and foremost a debate of conscience," he added.